Citi prepares for Asia investment surge with new desk in India

Wednesday 11 July 2018 | 01:09 PM
CET

Citigroup has announced setting up a China business desk in India betting on a pickup in investment flows within the Asian region.

Citi plans to establish the desk in Mumbai, adding to a South Korea business desk in the capital New Delhi, Citi officials claimed, cited by Reuters. The desks provide services such as trade finance, corporate loans, cash management and investment banking.

Chinese companies, mainly from tech and pharmaceutical sectors, have been looking to deepen their push into growth markets such as India, with its rising middle-class income and increased spending on big-ticket goods, according to Citi representatives.

The Wall Street bank's revenue from institutional business in intra-Asia trade corridors has risen 33% so far in 2018 versus the same period a year prior, and compared with 18% for all of 2017. Citi has about 20 business desks supporting investments by companies from China, South Korea and India, into places including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hanoi, as well as New York, London and Johannesburg.